Month: June 2016

Conceptions of God are constantly in flux, which is what yields so many different religions. In Lake Woebegone Days, Garrison Keillor humorously describes numerous disputes among church congregations over the interpretation of scripture which lead to factions developing which cause the congregations to split. Baptists and Methodists primarily disagree over the method of baptism, and … Continue reading All Seeing→

Somewhere, out on the plains in Africa, just shortly after humans had learned to talk, a tribe got into some sort of trouble and all seemed bleak. Suddenly a man in the tribe heard the voice of his father, who had died years before, instructing him on what to do. He got everyone's attention and … Continue reading Voices in Our Heads→

What we think of as God is a personification of the whole of the universe crafted in the image of humanity. That's why the concept of God changes depending upon the observer. This is evident in the pages of the Bible, as the vengeful Yahweh of Genesis morphs into the loving Heavenly Father of the … Continue reading Conceptions of God→

Humans came along, noticed this beautiful world and immediately thought, "How can we best exploit this for our exclusive use?" Many today still hold the attitude that the earth exists for humans only, and all other creatures are either there for our use, or are hinderances to us which must be removed. We clear the … Continue reading Creator or Destroyer→

As their time with Jillian continues, she gets progressively more inebriated. This leads to more sarcasm and vitriol toward her father. Abigail begins to wonder exactly what the point of it is. Neil hasn't contributed much to the conversation, occasionally affirming some fact Jillian provides or deflecting some insult. An hour or so after they … Continue reading Worthy, Part 13→

They arrive at Jillian's townhouse and Neil rings the bell. Several minutes pass before the curtain in a nearby window parts, and Abigail briefly catches sight of a woman, though she's not there long enough for Abigail to get a good look. From inside, there's the sound of multiple locks being unlocked. Jillian opens the … Continue reading Worthy, Part 12→

Early Thursday morning, Neil and Abigail pile into his car with luggage, camping equipment, and snacks for an extended road trip. Neil phones Jillian to let her and Trudy know they're coming. The plan is to take I-5 and cover as many miles as possible each leg, then camp out or find a cheap motel … Continue reading Worthy, Part 11→

Today, I’m speaking with the illustrious and accomplished author of Freedom & Consequence, The Cheese Toast Project, A Tale of Two Sisters, Crazy Like the Foxes and The Long-Timers.

M: Were the stories written for, Freedom & Consequence written all at once, with the idea of making a book, or were they written at various different times in your life?

G: These stories were written over the past 20-30 years, starting around the time I was in college. The oldest story in the collection, “Suzi Thunder,” was written while I was an undergrad at Georgia State University around 1985 and appeared in the GSU Review, Georgia State’s literary magazine that year. The more recent stories, set mostly in Atlanta were written over the past two or three years and published first on my blog. The versions here are edited and expanded from what was on my blog. “A Bad…

Abigail and Neil are seated in the reception area of Professor Grant's office. Daniel enters and approaches the receptionist. He glances at the name plate. "Hello, Stella, I'm Dr. Hawkins. Professor Grant should have called you." "Yes, Dr. Hawkins, but I'm not Stella. She's out sick. I'm Daisy." "I see. Well, Daisy, Professor Grant said … Continue reading Worthy, Part 10→

As Abigail arrives at her Medical Frontiers seminar, Neil intercepts her. "Abby, I've been trying to call you. Why didn't you answer your phone?" "I was studying in the library and didn't want to be bothered so I turned it off. What's up." "I just found out about this, otherwise I'd have let you know … Continue reading Worthy, Part 9→